We
all frequent message boards and online forums (such as
alt.fan.dragonball), and we all contribute as much as
we can. Unfortunately, we don't KNOW of all the places
people post questions, so it's impossible for us to reach
everyone. However, if you're reading this, you at least
know where WE are, so it's possible for you to ask us
directly.

What
we're going for here is sort of an "Answerman"
or "Ask John" (from Anime
News Network and Anime
Nation, respectively). We'd like you to e-mail in
whatever questions you may have, so long as it somehow
relates to the world of DragonBall; be it the manga,
the anime, merchandise.. whatever. We've been around for
a few years, now, and we know the ropes... we like to
think we know our stuff.

Q. Since
I have refused to watch my DBZ DVD's in their original
Japanese format until I have the entire series (yeah,
it's kind of a neurotic thing for me) I may have missed
over something, BUT, can you please explain the whole
Majin Buu and his forms thing for me. Okay, so Kaioshin
reveals that Kid Buu is the real Buu, but when he swallowed
the Dai Kaioshin he assumed his form and thus became the
Fat Buu. Sooooo, if the Fat Buu is supposedly THE Buu,
where in the hell did that skinny-looking gray Buu come
from. I know he's supposed to represent the "evil"
of Buu or something, but it doesn't make any sense, especially
later on..... -Kooky
Vang

A.
Majin Buu and all of his respective forms can indeed be
ridiculously confusing. I think we've shown it off before,
but it warrants it again; here's the "Majin
Buu's Transformations" page from the as-of-yet
incomplete "Transformations Guide."
We're working on it... I swear! - VegettoEX

Q. I know you're
not exactly a manga expert, but can you at least get someone
else to answer this question: In the American Viz editions
of DragonBall and DragonBall Z, Mr. Popo doesn't have
any lips, in comparison to the one Japanese manga that
I have. However, in the American Monthly Shonen Jump,
he does. What's the deal? Is Viz trying to be anti-stereotype
by editing all big lips off of the dark skinned characters?
- Gabriel
Peralta

A.
Well... I didn't believe you at first, but after looking
through my Japanese and English manga collections... it's
true! Here are some comparison shots from Viz's DB, DBZ,
and Shonen Jump, respectively (click any image to full
the full-size scan):

As you
can see, Viz has actually "blacked out" Mr. Popo's lips (even in Shonen Jump). And even
I never noticed this before! Since this appears even in the uncensored DragonBall
(remember that DBZ has been officially "censored" since 2000, despite it only
coming into effect recently), my best bet is that they were covering themselves in case of a
lawsuit. Why, you ask? Because even though he's technically a "genie," Mr. Popo
bears a strong resemblance to the "Sambo" character, a parody of a black man by a
white in blackface (skin painted black with white gloves and bright red lipstick). In other words,
it's a stereotype-filled image that calls to mind, well... overt racism.

What such a depiction
is doing in Toriyama's work is anyone's guess, but we can probably chalk it up to another case of
the Japanese being insensitive to things like negative ethnic stereotypes (since they don't really have much
diversity in their mostly-homogeneous society). Regardless, I can see where Viz is coming from on this,
but I personally don't like it... without those lips, it's impossible to tell whether his mouth is open
or closed! - Julian

Q. I
know that GT wasn't completely made by Toriyama, but I
read in Beckett DBZ that he was at least talked to before
anything was done, leading me to my actual question: When
all the enemies are released from hell, how come Major
Metallitron (aka Full-Metal-Jacket) came to life? Isn't
he an android (aka robot)? Assistant Black also comes
to Earth, but he's in his purple armor suit that he uses
to fight Goku in DB. Does this mean that you can really
"take stuff with you" when you die? -Gabriel
Peralta

A.
I hardly think that Toriyama was contacted over every
little decision in the show. That said, if you remember,
in the very last episode of the series, Giru is "brought
back" after Shenlong brings back everyone who had
died; so yeah, going by GT logic, even robots can be brought
back to "life."

Q. In the video
game (or video) popularly known as "DragonBall Z
OVA", what's the name of the villain? I'm spicificly
refering to the red guy on the box of Part 2, but if there
are other villains in the movie (not refering to the resurrected,
reused villains from pervious DBZ movies), that would
be most helpful. ^_^ - Jessica
Randall

Q.
I
was wondering if the Dragonbox Z's have selectable English
subtitles. CDJapan addressed that "unless otherwise
stated, Japanese DVDs do not contain subtitles."
The specs for the DVDs on the site did not say that subtitles
are included, yet the boot-leg versions (available at
Five Star Laser Hong Kong - the Blue-green and yellow
colored ones) contain subtitles. - ian
truth

A.
No; none of the "Dragon Box" sets have English
subtitles. They are Japanese DVD releases for the Japanese
market for people who speak Japanese. ^^

Q.
This
is gonna sound INCREDIBLY stupid but... I've been a fan
of the site since the old days. I always pronounced the
name in my head like "Dai-Zane-Shoo X"... But
recently you added kanji and katakana
to the banner and it reads "Daizenshuu Ii-Ekusu."
So is it "Daizenshuu E. X." or like I originally
thought "Daizenshuu X"? I know that's a retarded
question.-
Suupaa Gohan 2

A.
Both the "E" and the "X" are indeed
pronounced! Yeah, I think that's partly why we added it
to the banner (in addition to it just looking cool, and
further making us know like we know what we're talking
about); it does remove any confusion there might be ^^;;
- VegettoEX

A.
I don't know if I have a favorite episode from the original
DB series; if I did, it's probably the one where Ma Junior
swallows the jar that he just captured Kami-sama
in. I always found that to be utterly creepy and awesome
at the same time. As for DBZ, it's definitely 184. SSJ2
Gohan from the Cell Games is easily my favorite character
of all time... there's just no getting around it. He kicks
major boo-tay .- VegettoEX

A. I actually haven't seen all of DB, but one of
my favorite moments has to be in episode 76, when Goku
finally realizes that the "stranger" he was
fighting was actually his long-dead adoptive grandfather,
Son Gohan. It was just touching, really. As for DBZ, Episode
184 has been my favorite for a long time. Gohan had finally
stepped into the spotlight, and was ready to kick him
some ass (at least until the end of the Cell arc). - Julian

Q.
My
current favorite anime (though Dragonball of
course will always be my true favorite) is Naruto.
I've heard that Kishimoto-sensei was inspired
as a child by Toriyama-sensei's work. Do you
know if this is true? Because I CAN sorta see Toriyama-sensei
in the comedy, and I was just wondering if there was any
substance to that.
- Suupaa
Gohan 2

A.
In Issue 03 of the American edition of Shonen Jump, Kishimoto mentions (on page 16)
that DragonBall is one of his three favorite manga. He even lists it first, so it's
definitely something that's at least had some influence on him. Cementing this
further is that, in the article that accompanied his "DragonBall Children" image,
he talks all about how DB has influenced him as an artist. I haven't exactly gotten around to
translating that article just yet, but at some point in the future, I intend to (Oda-sensei's
is first on the list, though). - Julian

THIS
WEEK'S MESSAGE BOARD DISCUSSION:

Q.
Just out of curiousity, does anyone have a complete list
(or near complete list) of new attacks shown in GT (descriptions
and images would help), and new characters who use pre-existing
attacks? - The S